Defense fields experts in sniper trial

OROVILLE — The defense presented three experts Wednesday in the trial of a Chico man charged for an alleged sniper-style shooting in September 2011.

All three witnesses testifying in Butte County Superior Court for defendant Jeffrey James Menzies questioned key parts of the investigation into the death of David Yang, then 26, who was shot while waiting at the intersection of Highway 32 and Bruce Road in Chico to return to work.

Yang was also an associate pastor at Oroville Hmong Alliance Church.

Menzies, 29, is charged with murder and faces the special circumstances of lying in wait and using a rifle causing death.

The prosecution presented witnesses who testified Menzies positioned himself on a raised berm on the southwest corner of the intersection and shot Yang in his right ear with a high-powered rifle.

Under defense attorney Jodea Foster's questioning, Dr. Terri Haddix of Hayward-based Forensic Analytical said she reviewed Yang's autopsy report, prepared by medical examiner Dr. Thomas Resk. She refuted Resk's conclusion the shot entered above Yang's ear and said a smaller, roundish wound toward the right side of Yang's neck appeared to be more typical of an entrance wound.

However, she couldn't say without further reconstruction.

Under cross-examination by supervising deputy district attorney Mark Murphy, Haddix said she could only see the surface of the skin in the photos.

She said the ear wound could either be from a secondary projectile or as a result of the energy from the high-powered shot.

Haddix said X-rays showed a cluster of lead traces near the neck wound. Metal fragments are typically at the greatest density where the bullet impacts the skull, she said.

The doctor said she could see skull fractures, but not enough to discern a pattern.

Dr. Resk concluded the neck wound wasn't deep enough to be the entrance wound and the fracture pattern indicated the round entered over the ear.

Dr. Haddix said portions of Resk's report were sparse with limited objective data, such as photographs. For example, close-up photos of some areas would've aided the review.

Resk had previously testified he had cut some of the secondary wounds, including the neck wound, to determine none cut more than a quarter-inch deep, but also said no photos were taken of that portion of the procedure.

Kenton Wong, also of Forensic Analytical, reviewed the possible trajectory the bullet took. He said he generally agreed with the analysis done by the state Department of Justice, but noted discrepancies that could alter the line of fire away from the utility pole on the raised berm where Menzies allegedly fired from.

Wong noted that Yang was four inches shorter than the officer who posed as Yang during the reconstruction analysis. The height difference could affect the trajectory.

Justice Department analysts also didn't consider the exit wound on Yang's upper left forehead, Wong said. He said the bullet would likely travel in a straight line through Yang's body. To have the bullet be deflected at a steep angle from the entry to the exit defied the laws of physics, he said.

On cross-examination, Wong said it was possible for a bullet to move in different angles after striking bone. He also conceded it was possible other shooting positions near the pole could've exposed the defendant's alleged position or led to the shot being fired through a different window.

Foster has suggested the fatal shot may have been fired closer to the vehicle.

In the afternoon, Foster placed retired aerospace engineer Duncan MacPherson on the stand. MacPherson developed an interest in wound ballistics and wrote a book on the subject. He said the trajectory of the bullet wouldn't vary much after striking the window, based on the purported angle of the shot.

MacPherson said rifle bullets are geared to retain much of the shape until they hit an object and then expand.

He believed the roundish hole on the neck was the entrance wound. He said the round disintegrated after impact and didn't leave an identifiable wound track as assumed by Dr. Resk. The disintegrated bullet would also leave the cloud of lead fragments as seen on the X-ray.

When Murphy asked about the neck wound not penetrating the skull, MacPherson said he would expect an entrance wound to penetrate, but not always.